Advent: A Lesson for Liberia

In the previous article, we modestly explored the meaning and relevance of the Church year and the liturgical seasons. We noted that Advent is the first of the seasons. It is a four-Sunday season just before Christmas. Its thrust is on looking forward to and preparing for the birth of Jesus at Christmas (the first coming) as well as his return at the end of time to judge the world (the second coming).

Just before the first Christmas, John the Baptist, went out all over Judea, calling his contemporaries to repentance (change of heart and mind and followed by change of attitude) in preparation for the arrival of the Son of God. Advent summons Christians to prepare for Christmas and the second coming of Jesus by shunning evil and clinging to what is good; to turn away from evil and keep the heart and mind clean for Jesus to come in and dwell therein. The liturgical (worship) color is purple, depicting repentance, seriousness, and mourning for sins.

This article seeks to highlight John the Baptist’s message of repentance, with particular emphasis on the change that makes all the difference in one’s life, his/her family, the community, the nation and the world.

John the Baptist was Jesus’ older cousin (six months older) and played a crucial role in the ministry of Jesus. He was the herald, the messenger whose primary mission was to prepare the way for Jesus. He summoned people to change their evil ways and warned them of the grave danger they were in if they refused to change.

O what relevant message that is for all mankind, especially Liberians, who inflicted and experienced much devastation of lives, economy, infrastructure and the morals of the people in recent times! Our greatest need and opportunity is to change from our old and usual ways of doing things and conducting ourselves that have hurt the national fabric to the core. In Luke 3 (the gospel passage for this Sunday, December 13) John the Baptist urged his contemporaries to repent and show fruit in keeping with their repentance.

The byword of the 2005 general and presidential, democratic elections was change, renewal and restart of national life and culture. But after nearly five years of a new democratic experiment, any good observer of every stratum of the Liberian society knows that we are very far from what and where we want to be. A major reason, among other reasons, is because we have not changed. We are still stuck in our old, unhelpful ways and habits.

The best place to begin the family, communal and national change is with oneself. Change in our own lives gives us the moral authority and impetus to seek change in others and our institutions. The popular saying that “the problem with us is us” is true. And the solution for our situation has to be us. Jesus teaches us the same lesson when he demands that we endeavor to first take the speck of dust from our eyes and then we will see to help others remove the speck of dust from their eyes (Luke 6:41-42). In other words, we cannot offer others what we ourselves do not have.

Advent offers us a great opportunity to change our evil ways and old habits of dirty politics, deceit, self-centeredness, gross disrespect for the rights of others and of what is duly theirs. We will not make much progress if we are wicked to one another. God wants to bless us and make us great; but our sin thwarts or delays his blessings for us. There is a great need for us to cultivate and maintain the virtues of putting our faith to work in both good and bad times – a prayer life that changes and empowers, fairness in all our dealings, hard work, seeking the welfare of others and teaching all of these to our children.

Self-seeking and self-promoting at the expense of others is self-defeating. Jesus teaches that we cannot discover self and find fulfillment solely in self. It is in seeking and serving God and the other that we truly find and fulfill self (Luke 9:24). The prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi is ever relevant: “Lord, make us instruments of your peace: where there is hatred let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is darkness, light; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is sadness, joy.”